


blood of my blood, skin of my skin

by flamemistbee



Category: Black Panther (2018)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:17:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamemistbee/pseuds/flamemistbee
Summary: Shuri decided to go to South Korea to help her brother, Nakia, and Okoye. It's still up for debate whether it was the worst or best decision of her life.





	blood of my blood, skin of my skin

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering how old Shuri is in this story, she's twenty two. Though I did enjoy writing this, I will say that you have to suspend some disbelief with this story. I just don't believe Shuri wouldn't have found a way out of this situation on her own. Also, I think T'Challa, king or no king, would let the world go to hell if it allowed him to get his sister back.
> 
> And as you can see I'm not good with tags.
> 
> But besides that, I hope you enjoy. Please don't mind the typos and errors too much. I didn't have a beta reader for this.

It’s not often that her brother asked for help on the field, but when T’Challa did, Shuri never said no. The lab was her life and she loved working on new designs that would help her brother and Wakanda, but there’s something different about standing side by side to help him. So, when T’Challa told her he was going on a mission with Okoye and Nakia, she knew she had to go.

  
“No, Shuri. You must stay here as back-up,” he said.

  
Shuri pouted as she held onto the hem of his sleeves. “Please, brother! I’ve never been to South Korea before.”

  
“I’ll show you a video then. Besides, it’s not as if we’re vacationing there. We are going on an important mission to capture Klaue.”

  
“But brother—”

  
“No, Shuri. I need you to help us from here and be safe. If it was anyone but Klaue, I would allow you to go. But this man cannot be trusted to not go to the extreme.”

  
“I’ll show Nakia the footage of you trying to fly in that suit.”

  
His brown eyes narrowed in on her. “You wouldn’t dare,” he said.

  
She arched a brow as she leaned back with a smirk. “Have you just met me yesterday, brother? Of course, I would.”

  
She grabbed one of the beds on her wrist ready to send the embarrassing video of her brother falling to the ground after she tricked him into believing the new suit she made would allow him to fly. Before she could do it, T’Challa grabbed her wrist at the sight of the offending video projecting from the beads on her wrist.

  
With a sigh and a fond glare, he said, “Okay, Shuri.”

  
She smiled brightly knowing she had won her brother over again, and her smile was enough to melt away his frown.

  
“But you will go nowhere near that club, sister. Okoye, Nakia, and I will be going on a mission. You’ll stay close by for back-up.”

  
The smile dimmed when she realized the compromise she must make, but the idea of going to South Korea and seeing some K-pop idols made it brighten again.

  
“Yes!” she cheered as her brother smiled.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
She never got the chance to see a K-Pop idol. She barely got to eat at the nearby restaurant before her brother called her for help with driving. It was fun and thrilling to help her brother until they destroyed the car leaving her to worry about her brother’s safety. Thankfully she did not have to worry for long before T’Challa called her to say CIA agent Everett Ross had Klaue in custody and they’ll have to wait for him to finish his interrogation before they could take Klaue back to Wakanda and make him stand trial. Now the fun was gone, but instead of listening to Ross ask silly questions she had decided to go to the nearby coffee shop. Shuri smiled at the woman who openly stared at her braids not taking offense to the stares of outsiders. It made her laugh on the way back with three coffees in hand. Okoye had already declined saying it only slowed her down much to her brother’s amusement.

  
She walked back to the building Ulysses Klaue was being held in to give her brother and Nakia much needed coffee, but was surprised when the coffee fell out of her hand as the ground shook. A momentary feeling of dread went through her, but she ignored it and ran around the corner only to see a man in a mask ringing off a shot that blasted T’Challa into a wall.

  
“Brother!” she yelled as she watched him fall to the ground. The man whipped around to look at her and even beneath the mask she could see him grin. It became all too clear what her first mistake had been and she’s doesn’t get the chance to grab her beads before she’s grabbed by two people and placed inside a moving van.

  
“Let me go! When my brother comes, he’ll kill you,” she said but her warning fell on death ears. They laughed instead as she struggled in their hold.

  
“Shut up, bitch.” The woman who was holding her said. “Your brother is as good as dead.”

  
Those words bother her and sent her into a frenzy. By the time she’s done in her movements, the woman’s nose is bleeding and there is a cut on the corner of her lip.

  
“You think my brother will die from such a hit,” she sneered with a shake of her head. “You Americans kill me.”

  
The man who hurt her brother pulled his mask off and grabbed her face forcing her to look at him. He’s a black American. Two gold teeth gleam from each side of his mouth and his eyes danced with a wild rage. The grip from his hands hurt her jaw but she did not cower under his gaze.

  
“No, we don’t think your brother will die from it, princess, and that’s exactly why we grabbed your ass.”

  
She raised a brow at the title he called her. From anyone else, she wouldn’t mind but he seemed to be mocking her. Before she could reply, she heard a loud laugh rumble. When she turned to her left, she saw the laughter coming for Klaue.

  
“First you get vibranium and now you get the princess of Wakanda,” Klaue said with delight. “We’re going to have a goldmine now, baby! We need to set up shop—”

  
The rest of his words never made it to her ears as the woman who she elbowed earlier hit her hard enough to make her sleep to the world.

 

*                   *                      *                      *

  
It wasn’t a dream though she badly wanted it to be. Two colonizers, a black man, and a black woman stood before her in what looked to be an abandon warehouse.

  
The black man turned to her with a smile. “You awake, princess?”

  
She moved her hands only to realize they’re bound together with rope and what surprised her the most were the missing beads on her wrist. She panicked. If she didn’t have her beads, how would her brother be able to find her?

  
“Where have you taken me?” she asked as she struggled against the thickly bound ropes. Klaue laughed at her as he came closer.

  
“You’re really a princess, huh? All the princesses I’ve seen before looked different than you.”

  
She ignored the blatant racism of the colonizer and instead looked at the black man.

  
“Why did you take me?” she asked. “What do you want from my brother?”

  
“We just realized that instead of trying to find vibranium, it would be much easier to get it from the source,” the black man said. She frowned realizing where his train of thought was headed.

  
“My brother will never give you vibranium.”

  
“I guess he doesn’t want his precious sister back then,” the woman said as she stood closer to the black man. She smiled at her, eyes glowing with triumph, sporting a band-aid on the corner of her lip. Shuri preened. It’s what the woman deserved, her only regret was that she had not been able to deliver more damage.

  
“Who are you?” she asked the man who tried to blow her brother to pieces.

  
“I’m blood of your blood,” he said, “skin of your skin.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
It’s been more than twenty-four hours since she had been kidnapped. Klaue left the country to find a buyer for some of the beads on her wrist but promised he would be back. Linda, the woman who knocked her out, left to go to the local coffee shop. Shuri sat by herself in a dirty hotel room as the water ran in the shower.

  
It’s hard for her to be calm, but she tried to do so anyway. It’s not every day that she was kidnapped, but still, she did not think it would take her brother this long to find her. Then again, her beads were gone, it would not be easy for them to find her. Nevertheless, she hoped it would be soon.

  
Her ears perked up when the shower stopped running. She clinched her fist prepared for a fight despite the fact she was tied to a chair. She would not allow this man to touch her. When Erik, the black man who hurt her brother, stepped out of the door, steam followed in his wake. Shuri opened her mouth prepared to tell him to get ready for the gruesome death her brother would deliver him if he touched her. But the words are dead on her lips as the steam cleared showing the parts of Erik’s body that was not covered with a towel. Many scars adorn his upper body. She wondered where he was from. There weren’t many black Americans who had such scars.

  
When she gained her tongue again, she said, “would you please put on a shirt and stop assaulting my eyes?”

  
Erik stared at her before laughing. “Funny, princess. How very childish of you.”

  
“I’m not a child,” she said. “I am twenty two years of age might I add.”

  
“Naw, that’s baby years, princess,” he said as he walked over to his duffle bag. Droplets of water dripped down his legs and Shuri felt uncomfortable at the sight.

  
“Well sorry I’m not an old man like you,” she said as she watched the towel around his waist drop. She gasped ready to tell him off but was surprised to see he had briefs on. He turned back to grin at her.

  
“Disappointed?”

  
She scuffed. “Where did you get the scars from?”

  
After putting on pants, he pulled a shirt over his head. “With every kill, I get a new one.”

  
Her eyes widened comically to his delight.

  
“Every person I’ve killed before lays bare on my skin,” he said as her nose scrunched with disgust.

  
“That is not something you should be proud of,” she said as he smiled while sitting on the bed. “You should feel remorse for those you have killed.”

  
“People die every day. It’s not that deep,” he said as he laid back on the bed. “Besides, they need to be remembered some way. Don’t worry. You and your brother will be on here soon.”

  
A growl ripped from her throat as he laughed, and for some reason, a slither of fear ran though her though it shouldn’t. Her brother would come for her soon. He would save her and take her away from these murderer and thieves.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Erik and Linda are like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. It was one of the old movies her dad used to watch. Shuri realized this as they robbed a bank. Even from the van, she could hear the cries and screams until Erik hopped in the front and Linda in the back, tossing in bags of money. She didn’t know why they took her. Probably to taunt her, or maybe because they know if they left her alone she would find a way out.

  
“How much money do we got, baby?” Erik asked as he drove the car wildly trying to avoid the police.

  
Linda didn’t respond with words, instead she tossed wads of cash into the air and by Americans terms made it rain. Erik grinned as he hit the corner with enough speed to nearly make the truck tumble over. He turned back and smiled at Linda who laughed, and when his eyes met Shuri’s he winked. Shuri rolled her eyes unimpressed by his ways. When they finally stop in a safe location where they could no longer hear police sirens, Linda climbed to the front and jumped in Erik’s lap. They kiss each other, adrenaline running through their veins with giggles of excitement that made Shuri gag at the sight of their moving tongues.

  
“Stop being childish, princess,” Erik chided as he removed his tongue from Linda’s.

  
“I’m not a child.” And suddenly she felt stupid for saying that because it only made her sound like one.

  
Shuri shook her head from its thoughts. It would only be a matter of time before her brother found her and killed Erik and Linda where they stood.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
T’Challa still hasn’t found her and now she’s with Erik and Linda again as they rob money from a mobster. After her last stunt that nearly got them caught and her saved, they took her with them now realizing that the people here wouldn’t bother to tell the difference between her and them even if she had ropes tied around her hands.

  
They didn’t do it because they needed the money. They did it because they wanted to, but this time the robbery did not go as planned. Shuri could only stand there with her hands tied behind her back as she watched the man hold a gun to Linda’s head. She took a step back realizing this was her chance. In this place full of mobsters, and the language barrier between them, they would not care for her pleas of help, but she could slip away in the crossfire and find a way to contact T’Challa and go home. All she wanted to do was go home. She regretted ever leaving home.

  
But it was like Erik read her thoughts. “Don’t leave, princess,” he said without looking at her and keeping his eyes on the man who held Linda dangerously close.

  
“What do you have eyes in the back of your head?” she asked annoyed. Erik didn’t respond to her and instead told Linda, “it’s okay.”

  
But it wasn’t.

  
There was no way out of this situation. Even from where she stood, she could see Erik would not be able to shoot the man without shooting Linda. And it seemed that Erik loved Linda too much to risk that. Or at least she thought. He was awfully quiet for a man who was put in a position where he could lose his lover and the fear and dread was clear in Linda’s eyes. Even her brother could not remain calm after years of training if one of his people were in danger. She watched Erik’s finger on the trigger and felt her heart beat with anticipation. She should feel smug and happy, but she couldn’t help but feel ill knowing that if Linda and Erik were killed, she would be killed next. And what made her feel angry was that she couldn’t help herself with tied arms and no tech going against a bullet.

  
It was only luck that a person entered the room distracting the man and giving Erik the opportunity to shoot him.

  
On the way back in the van, Linda sat in the back with her trying to pretend she was okay, but her shaking gave her away. Erik offered her no comfort. Though no one said it, Shuri had this feeling that if Erik needed to shoot Linda he would have. And from the way Linda could neither look at Shuri or Erik, she must think the same. It’s at that moment Shuri realized they could not be the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Linda was not ready to die for Erik and he was not ready to die for her.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
“Who are you?”

  
Shuri did not know why she was asking this question. It was not as though she did not know his name. She knew that he was extremely intelligent seeing that he had taken her tech and used it against her. It was the only way to explain why her brother hadn’t found her yet. She knew his name was Erik Killmonger. She had a feeling he worked for the military before by the way he used his guns and his technique. But despite having all of that information, she didn’t know who he was. How had this man come to know of her brother? Why was he doing this? Who was he?

  
“You finally asked me, princess,” he said with a grin.

  
“Don’t rub my nose in it, eh,” she said. “Just get on with the answer.”

  
His grin grew wider. “Ask me again.”

  
It was like he wanted her to beg and Shuri was not one to beg a stranger. She turned to the side raising her nose in defiance. Though she wanted to know more about him, she would not beg him, even if she was in ropes. Shuri flinched when he grabbed her face forcing her to look at him again. She wished she could melt in her chair to get away from his fiery gaze and warm breath.

  
“Ask me again,” he said. She tried to move back because his mouth was so close to hers, she could feel the brush of his lips against her cheek with every word he spoke. Her eyes darted back and forth looking at his brown eyes before she sighed.

  
“Who are you?” she whispered.

  
He pulled back, his brown eyes glistening with triumph before he tugged his bottom lip down and she gasped. A war dog tattoo was there, and it gleamed at her mockingly.

  
He was one of them.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
No matter how much Shuri thought about it, and she thought about it often with the infinite amount of time on her hands, there was no way Erik could be one of them. Even if the tag was there as proof, it still made no sense.

  
They had left South Korea and were now in America squatting in the house of some elderly couple who was on vacation. The sound of Linda’s breathy moans and Erik’s grunts filled the air traveling from upstairs down to the kitchen she was hiding in. Linda and Erik had sex often, and those were the only times when Shuri was not being watched long enough to find a way out of the room they locked her in and unravel the ropes from her wrist after spending minutes dragging it across a knife. She had even cut herself, but her blood being spilled was worth it if she could get away. Once the ropes were gone, she grabbed the phone on the kitchen table and quickly dialed in numbers. When she pressed it to her ear, she waited for it to ring with a bated breath until she realized the phone won’t ring at all. That was strange because she could have sworn she heard the dial when she pressed talk. Her eyes follow the cord connected to the phone until she saw the end of it ripped in the hands of Erik.

  
“Needed someone to call, princess?”

  
There was no time for regret. She wanted to run out the door when she first got the chance, but the home they were in was in the middle of nowhere and she wouldn’t have gotten far without Erik finding her. She armed the phone in her hand as a weapon and attacked.

  
It was a fight that lasted longer than she expected. Blood dripped from his busted lip and she could see the angry mark of red on his cheek from when she slammed the phone against his face. He must have spent up most his energy putting work on his lover that their fight had managed to last so long. Erik ignored her as she beat her hands against his back while he carried her over his shoulder before tossing her on the bed like a rag doll. She immediately sat up ready to strike again but froze when she saw a knife pointed in her direction.

  
“I’m not afraid to hit a woman.”

  
“Do that and my brother will really kill you.”

  
“You think I really give a fuck about your brother? Where he at now?” Erik asked as he pulled a pair of cuffs from the jeans that hung loosely around his waist. “Can’t even protect his own sister. If only he gave the vibranium we asked for, we wouldn’t be in this position.” He turned her around to face the headboard and then leaned down to put the cuffs on her wrist. Shuri frowned at the scent of sweat and sex clinging to his body.

  
“You stink,” she said.

  
Shuri felt the rumble of his chest against her back as he unnecessarily pressed close to her while placing the cuffs on. The cuffs were uncomfortable and felt worse than the ropes.  
When he pulled back, he said, “you wish it was the scent of me and you, princess.”

  
She whipped her neck back in disgust at his vile words. She had heard no such things from men before. They were too scared to even think of disrespecting her because she was a princess and the men in her land respected her to never say such words.

  
“I wish no such thing,” she said. He didn’t respond and Shuri looked at him once again to have something to smile about later knowing she did damage. The undertone of his skin was flushed with red and she smirked but as her eyes dragged lower, she saw a tint in his jeans and quickly looked away. Erik snorted. Maybe the red of his skin had not been because of her but from him diving into his lover with his all. She had no idea what it felt to burn like that, that it set your skin on fire. She had no idea what it felt like to give yourself to someone else. She had never had the chance to date or think about having lovers, not when her mind was filled with thoughts of new creations and the boys in her land were afraid of T’Challa.

  
“Ask me who I am again.” Erik said.

  
Shuri rolled her eyes. “Why would I do that?” she scuffed. “You’re Erik Killmonger. A black American operative who happens to be a pain in my ass.”

  
He seemed to be disappointed by her words and turned his back on her as he walked out of the room.

  
“When you ask me, I’ll tell you.” He said as he closed the door.

  
“I’ll never ask you!” she yelled as she heard the door click with a sound that allowed her to know there was no way he’ll ever let her escape again.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
More days passed and Shuri did not bother to count them anymore. They had left the elderly couple’s home and were now in Oakland, California. The streets there are dirty and riddled with waste. The people there did not smile the way they did in her land. They were just living. And it seemed that everyone in the neighborhood knew Erik and was afraid of him too. The first stunt she had pulled to ask for help did not go as planned for as soon as she knocked on the next-door neighbor’s door saying she needed help the woman had closed the door on her face. So now when Linda took her to the local store with her to buy groceries because she could not be left in the apartment alone with Erik gone, Shuri did not bother to ask for help. No one would help her, and no one would go against Killmonger.

  
They said his name with familiarity but also with fear. Shuri did not bother to wonder what Erik had done to gain this mobster type of reputation in this neighborhood. It was one thing to see it in films, it was another thing to live through it.

  
As they walked back with the groceries in hand, Shuri looked around her. Teenagers fought on the side of the road as the crowd around them egged them on with oohs and ahhs, and the adults who walked past them did not say a word and kept going on about their lives. A drunk man sat on the side of the road with a plastic cup in hand shaking it as he spoke intangible words.

  
“What a way to live,” Shuri said.

  
Apparently, it had been the wrong thing to say with the death glare Linda gave her.

  
“This is the life me and Erik live. You’re a princess living in heaven while we live in hell,” she said with a look that was used for the privileged and ignorant and Shuri had never thought she would live to see a day where she would be under that gaze.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
It was a boring day.

  
No robberies. No sex. No talking.

  
Erik sat on the couch with his eyes closed and head tilted back, and Linda’s head rested on his lap while she snored softly.

  
Shuri sat on the couch across from them and for once rope did not bind her hands. But there was no point in being happy about that. She wouldn’t be able to move an inch without Erik waking up from his light sleep and he had added alarms to the door that only he and Linda had the code to get in and out of. There was no need to lock her up anymore. In Erik’s world everything was bordered with no place for her to run or hide. There was no access to technology and even brute force could only get her as far as down the block before one of Erik’s people saw her.

  
She missed home. More than she ever thought she would. It felt almost impossible to reach now and Shuri wondered why her brother hadn’t found her yet. She wondered why he hasn’t given away all the vibranium on the mountain for her. She wondered why he cared more about Wakanda than her. If it was her then she would have given away all the vibranium in a heartbeat. But then again, she knew if she was in T’Challa’s position and he in hers, he still would not want her to give it away. He would tell her how dangerous it would be in the hands of people like Killmonger and Klaue. He would tell her that you must consider the lives of the many and the few. He would tell her that though he would gain her back, the world would be in chaos. But even those thoughts of bravery and sacrifice could not comfort her sorrows as tears pooled in her eyes.

  
The sense of loneliness and abandonment was too much to bear as the first sob ripped through her throat. She had not cried once since she had been kidnapped, not wanting her brother to bear the burden of her tears, but she could no longer hold in her pain. It was unbearable.

  
“Ask me again.”

  
Shuri’s neck snapped up to see Erik’s eyes were no longer closed as he looked at her. She wanted to wipe the tears off her face, embarrassed and angry that he had seen her so weak. But she knew it would be useless as the sadness she felt in this moment was not something she could overcome. Instead she got up from the couch and headed into the room they kept her in.

  
His footsteps followed her and Shuri slammed the door shut behind her only to have it burst open a second later and be slammed shut again. She spun around and watched him with wary eyes as she backed against the wall. Shuri was no fool. Erik was a man to be feared. He did not possess the strength her brother had, but an anger that could swallow you whole. That anger would beat any strength of a mere man no matter how strong they were. But with the abilities of the heart shaped herb and the suit she made, T’Challa could beat Erik in no time. If her brother ever had to fight Erik without the heart shaped herb, she was afraid to admit that Erik’s anger could consume him.

  
“Ask me,” he said.

  
She rolled her eyes with exasperation. “I already know who you are.”

  
“Ask me.”

  
“You are Erik Killmonger—”

  
“Ask me!”

  
“Who are you?” she screamed. It ripped through her throat as tears dropped from her eyes.

  
Erik grinned, his eyes blazed with glee and triumph. When the words he wanted to say finally left his mouth, it left her shaking like a leaf on a windy night.

  
“What?” she whispered with wide eyes. “N’Jadaka, son of N’Jobu.”

  
Shuri had heard stories about her uncle before. According to her father, he was a great man who had went undercover and disappeared. Her father did not speak about him often. It could be because she had never bothered to ask, or because her father never wanted to talk about him.

  
“How?” she whispered as her mind raced trying to figure out if there was truth in his words, but Erik answered that for her by pulling out a gold necklace from under his shirt and a black ring dangled from it. She recognized it immediately. It was the same ring her father had worn, the same ring her brother wore now.

  
“I found my daddy with panther claws in his chest. Your father wasn’t a great man or a king, he was murderer. And worst of all, he raised a coward too.”

  
“Shut up!” she yelled as tears spilled angrily. It could not be true. Yet it was the only thing that made sense. The necklace. The war dog tattoo. A broken Erik.

  
Her father had killed his own brother, the reason, she did not know why, but what had mattered was not why he did it but what he left behind that stood in front of her now. Erik’s eyes were angry and he smiled with glee that he had broken the image of her father in her mind and left the room leaving her in tears as she cried for the rest of the night.

  
Her father had left behind a monster he created.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Shuri did not have enough tears to continue to cry. She had to save them for her brother when he killed Erik, for she could at least cry out of sympathy of what his life had become at the hands of her father. To think he had grown up in such a place when he was one of their own made her sad for him. She could not imagine living in a world knowing there was Wakanda but never being able to go there. And to a certain extent, she was able to understand his anger now. It didn’t change anything though.

  
It didn’t make her less upset that she had fallen onto his path of rage and vengeance.

  
She didn’t talk as much anymore. T’Challa had always told her she had a big mouth and liked to ramble on and on, whether it was to talk about her tech or tease him. So, when she was around Erik she kept it closed. No more snotty remarks. She thought maybe she owed him that despite the fact he was still a horrible person. But it seemed that her act of kindness only made it worse.

  
“Don’t pity me,” he said. Shuri wanted to say fuck you and I’ll pity you as much as I want, but instead kept her mouth shut. It’s the wrong move. A second later he barged into her room and grabbed her by her throat.

  
He’s angry again. He’s always angry. She felt that it was an emotion he could not run away from. Even with Linda. She could only keep his anger at bay with her legs open and her mouth closed over his. It scared her. She thought she had only saw this kind of rage in M’Baku, but he felt like a calm sea now compared to Erik’s storm.

  
He held her against the wall and she’s trapped against his body with his hands on her throat. It hurt to swallow the saliva in her mouth, but then the grip on her throat loosened as his eyes darted back and forth looking at hers. It sent tingles through her skin and suddenly the reason she could not breathe is not because of his hands, but because of him. He’s sending fire through her skin as she tried to calm her beating heart. His hand that caged her throat moved up to gently cup her cheek. She stared into his eyes waiting…burning…yearning. As for what she’s yearning for, she did not know. But she knew she wanted something and Erik could sense it too as his tongue wet his own lips.

  
She felt shame even letting the thought cross her mind that she could imagine his lips on hers.

  
“What are you doing?” It was a question she wanted to ask, but instead it had come from Linda’s mouth.

  
It snapped them out of their gazing, well at least it snapped her out of it. Erik did not move as his eyes closed and his jaw clenched before he dropped his hand from her cheek.

  
“Just a talk between family,” he said. And that made her skin tingle in a different way than it had been before, like a spider crawling on her skin. And when he left the room with Linda, Shuri thought to herself she didn’t want to be his family.

  
But she’s not sure if it’s because of blood or the simple fact he’s an asshole.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Erik allowed her to pick up the carryout sometimes. Shuri thought it was because he wanted to taunt her with the knowledge that even with the access of the outside world no one would help her. That after many times of stealing people’s phones and devices she could never get a signal in his home and it almost felt like she’s on a remote island. It was maddening to live in Erik’s world where he allowed her to live in plain sight and yet kept her invisible to those she missed the most. She missed the comfort of her mother’s arms. She missed the warmth of her brother’s laugh. She missed Okoye’s teasing. But most of all she missed her lab. She yearned to be able to go to her lab again. She hadn’t finished her blasters yet and she thought about using those on Erik often to help her make it through this hell. She missed the music of her home, the fresh air, the sunsets she had never paid attention to before.

  
But now she was caged in a hell as the rest of the people who looked like her lived a life that was nothing like her home. They were heavily policed, murdered, drugged, and not given half the education she was able to obtain. It made her feel pity, but it most of all made her feel shame to think they had never helped them.

  
The pizza delivery car was parked at the end of the road. The first time she came out to get pizza she begged the driver to allow her to use his phone, but to no avail. Instead he ranted about the way Erik had helped get him off the streets and find a job. The second time she ran she was grabbed by thugs who brought her back to Erik. This time she didn’t bother anymore. She grabbed the revolting box of pizza that only tasted good the first time.

  
“Hope you enjoy, Shuri.” Sean, the pizza driver said.

  
She raised her middle finger as she walked away.

  
“Sorry! I put extra sausage on it like you like. It’ll get better soon. Erik’s a great guy!”

  
She sighed and turned her middle finger into a wave as she walked back to the complex building. Sean was only a fifteen-year-old boy anyway.

  
“Hey beautiful.”

  
Shuri ignored the words from the group of boys who neared her. She had never seen them before and though she could ask them for help she did not like the way their eyes lingered on her. So, she ignored them and continued to walk only to have her arm grabbed.

  
“What you death, bitch?” Shuri shrugged off the boy’s hold and kneed him in the balls hard enough for him to fall over in pain. The rest of his friends stared in shock before they attacked. It was not a fair fight and they knew it, but they were wrong to think she was a woman raised to cower before men. She was their equal and there was no way she would allow these boys to disrespect her. They would learn that tonight.

  
Two of the boys dropped to the ground like bricks after she punched them hard enough to see stars. The other two were blinded by sauce of the pizza when she smashed it in their eyes. There was only one left standing and he was the size of M’Baku but even bigger. He might have not known how to use his weight the way M’Baku did, but he did know how to hold her thin frame. She thrashed about panicking when she saw three of the boys stand. She clinched her jaw getting ready for the first hit, but it never landed. Erik came and rained blows that left blood falling from their mouths and pity flooding through her despite their assault. She was only going to teach them a lesson. Erik was trying to kill them, and they were no match for him as he hit them without mercy. She flinched at the sound of cracking bones and pleads of mercy as blood bathed the sidewalk.

  
Yet Erik’s fist didn’t seem to be enough to satisfy him before he pulled a gun out of his pocket.

  
“Don’t!” she yelled and then realized her mistake. He should shoot them. Maybe then the police would come, and she would be saved from this hell Erik brought her to where the men had no respect for women. But she knew that she did not want to see anyone die nor another scar on Erik’s skin. She tugged Erik back into the dirty complex and up the stairs into his apartment.

  
“What happened?” Linda asked as she saw blood on Erik’s clothes and then turned her rage onto her. “What did you go again?”

  
Before she could answer, Erik grabbed her making her face him. He checked her arms for any bruises.

  
“There’s nothing,” she said. “I can handle myself.”

  
“You should have let me kill them,” he hissed. Shuri didn’t doubt he would as she frowned.

  
“It’s not worth it. They’re idiots—”

  
“And they would have been dead idiots too. Fuck this shit. We’re out of here. Grab your shit and let’s go,” he said.

  
“I guess I’ll go grab my ropes then,” Shuri said and Erik glared at her before his gaze softened as he shook his head.

  
“Lin, pack everything. Don’t forget the cloaking tech.”

  
“But Klaue said—”

  
“We’ll meet him there.”

  
There was no point in arguing as they grabbed what was needed. While they packed, Shuri undid one of her braids and left it in a place visible for her brother to see.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
They were on the road longer than usual and Shuri wondered if they were even in Oakland anymore, let alone California. Linda stopped at a local gas station and went to go use the bathroom.

  
Shuri and Erik waited in the back of the van in silence, but she finally had a question she wanted to ask that wasn’t sarcastic or about who he was.

  
“Why did you never come home?”

  
Erik looked at her long and hard before he snorted with laughter as his hands rubbed the scarred skin on his arm.

  
“Home?” he asked. “So, it’s home now, huh? Fuck outta here.”

  
“Seriously, eh,” she said. “If you knew about Wakanda, why didn’t you at least try? The tattoo would have gotten you past the border.”

  
“There’s no home for me in Wakanda, princess,” he said bitterly. “Your king left me in Oakland to rot with no dad. And my mom…” He shook his head. “But I did want to see the sunset. My dad said it was most beautiful out there.”

  
“There’s still a chance for you to see it,” she said. “You can still come home.”

  
“Don’t lie to me,” he said as he glared. “The moment I go there your brother is going to put claws in my chest too. You just want to be released.”

  
“Erik—” He leaped near her closing the distance between them in the back of the van. “I’ll never give you back to him, princess. I’m going to take the vibranium from your brother and he’ll never see you again.”

  
“Are you going to kill me?” she whispered. Twenty two years of life was not enough. She still had so much more to do, and she did not believe for one second that even with all the time they had spent together Erik would show mercy to her.

  
“At first I was going to kill you as soon as the vibranium came. Sorry, princess. You’re too smart and valuable to your brother’s side,” he said as he moved close enough for his lips to brush against hers. “But now, I’m thinking about keeping you.”

  
All it would take was one move forward and their lips would be one. It would be wrong in so many ways, but something in her wanted to leap forward and see how soft his lips would feel pressed against hers. To see if she could melt into his skin and understand his pain. To take away his pain. For him to take away hers.

  
They heard the door open and slam but neither of them moved as Erik brushed his cheek against hers before pulling back and moving to his side of the van. For the rest of the ride, she ignored Linda’s glares and tried to calm her beating heart.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Shuri heard their whispers even when they tried to keep her out of the loop. They could do it before when they were in the elderly couple’s home. But the more they ran, the more the space of where they stayed got smaller, and the less information could be kept hidden from her, especially when Linda and Erik could not agree on something and that happened often. They argued in the bathroom in the little motel they stayed in. Well. It was more of Linda arguing and Erik listening to her speak as he shaved in the bathroom.

  
“I think we should forget this plan, Erik. Her brother is on to us and they almost got us that time. I don’t trust those Wakandans. I don’t trust Klaue. Do you really think they would give us a whole mountain of vibranium? And do you really think that white asshole is going to let us get a piece of the cut? I have a feeling he’s going to be gunning after us just like we’re gunning after him.”

  
“Don’t worry about it. It’s all good.”

  
“Don’t worry about it? It’s all good? This is serious, Erik. Our lives are on the line.”

  
“You can leave if you got to.”

  
The sink cut on for a few seconds then off.

  
“I’m not going to leave you. I told you I always got you, remember? I want to make sure we’re safe. I just wish we would have went with the first plan. If it wasn’t for that stupid bitch appearing like that we could have just flown straight to Wakanda.”

  
“I wouldn’t have been able to get you in— and fuck Wakanda! It’s easier this way anyway. Matter fact, shut up about this shit. You down or what?”

  
It’s quiet again before she responded.

  
“I’m down.”

  
The bathroom door opened, and Erik stepped out. He’s cleanly shaved now and Shuri hated to admit it, but he looked good. He glanced at her before walking to the door.

  
“What you want, princess?” he asked.

  
“Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, scrapple, and heavy on the syrup.”

  
He shook his head but there is a small smile on his lips before he left out the door. Shuri wanted to smile herself too, but she couldn’t with Linda glaring at her from the bathroom door.

  
“Princess, huh.” She said with a sneer. “I can’t wait to see you gone. The only reason I haven’t broken that face of yours is because we need you.”

  
“Let’s be honest. We both know whose face would be broken if we fought.” Shuri said tired of Linda’s uncalled for hate.

  
“You’re not even that pretty to be a princess.” Linda said and Shuri rolled her eyes at the childishness of her words.

  
“That’s interesting because Erik thinks I’m beautiful.”

  
Her words send Linda into a flight across the room as she raised her hand ready to strike. And Shuri was ready herself too. Shuri did not know whether Erik thought she was beautiful or not, nor did she care for that matter. She just said it to piss Linda off. She did not like Linda for many reasons, but the biggest reason, besides her helping in her kidnapping was that she had a horrible personality. Before they could come to blows the door opened and Erik came in with a bag of food in hand as he looked at them both.

  
“Breakfast,” he said as he dropped the bag on the bed. Shuri brushed past Linda and grabbed her food ignoring the glare she felt on her back.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Shuri slept in her room, or at least she tried to, but it’s hard to sleep when eyes watch over her. Erik did this from time to time, watching her while she slept. At first it was because he had to make sure she would not find a way out. His brown eyes would pierce through her and she would have to keep her eyes pinched closed, though never truly sleeping in fear of what he could do to her. Then there were other times, when he wasn’t watching her but sat down on the floor beside her bed while staring out the window. She wasn’t sure if it’s because he wanted privacy away from Linda or he found comfort from being on the floor. She never questioned it. She would watch him as he looked through the window, but he would never say anything, though she knew that he knew she was watching him.

  
And then there were times like these when Erik was not looking through the window. When his eyes were caressing her instead of piercing her. She laid on her side watching the lights of the night peak through the blinds of the window, while Erik sat in front of her, one leg on the bed while the other hung off it.

  
“We’re family you know,” she said because she felt it was something that needed to be said.

  
Apparently, Erik didn’t. “I know.”

  
“We’re cousins,” she said because it’s something she knew needed to be said.

  
“I know…cuz.” Her skin crawled from his words. She would rather be called princess than to hear those words from him.

  
“If father had brought you back home, I would have thought of you as my brother like T’Challa.”

  
And to that, Erik had no response with words, instead he used his hands to convey his thoughts. They rub against her bare legs sending goosebumps and chills all over her. His hands are rough with callous, war, and hardship yet when they touch her it made her want to melt. But nothing, not even his hands, could stop her brain from working.

  
“Do you think I’ll allow you to have me when you’re with her?”

  
He paused in his movements before he grinned and pinched her thigh playfully. She slapped his hand away, only from it to come back with a much softer squeeze. He’s ruining her, and she couldn’t allow him to do that. She sat up hoping it would clear the fog in her mind.'

  
“You’ll even lay with me when the woman you love is in another room?” she asked.

  
Erik looked at her and told her the truth as he always did, no matter who it hurt. “I love no one.”

  
It should make her feel happy to know he didn't love Linda, but when she heard no one she knew that applied to her too. She should not feel hurt when she was still not sure how she felt about him anyway, yet her heart still clinched with pain. It was a sad statement. Not just for her feelings, but for Erik too. To have no one to love was a terrible thing.

  
“Then what am I to you?”

  
He moved closed until they were barely inches apart. She loved and hated when he talked to her like this. It made her feel warm, but also made her feel nausea with nervousness always wondering if he would kiss her.

  
“You’re an anomaly, a fixation, a problem in my plan to destroy those who took everything from me,” he said before pressing his lips against hers.

  
It was everything she had expected and more. His lips were warm, soft, and gentle. Then he pried her lips open with his tongue and tangled his own with hers. She was on fire and she steadied herself by clutching onto his shirt. He pulled her closer as he kissed her more deeply, searching every crevice of her mouth with his tongue, and his hands searched too. She could barely breathe and knew she needed air but when Erik pulled back she found herself following him until her forehead touched his. He grinned before pushing her back gently. He’s on top of her now as he ravished her with kisses, devouring all of her, and she only wanted to give him more. Her heart raced, her thighs quivered, and butterflies swarmed her stomach leaving her light headed. He flipped them over so now she was on top of him. His lips never left hers as his hands explored her body. They roamed all over rubbing her back teasingly as it inched lower until he squeezed her ass, before going to her thighs. Suddenly, she wished the shorts and shirt she wore would disappear, so she could be closer to him.

  
When he pulled his lips from hers, she whimpered as he pushed her up to suck on her neck. It made her want to giggle but it also set her skin on fire. It’s all going so fast and a part of her wanted to stop. She knew this was wrong. He knew it too. But even as he grinded his hardness against her and the thin cloth of her shorts allowed her to feel everything, she bit her lip rutting back against him because it felt good. She felt alive. She felt like she did when she created something new. _This was something new_. The feel of his fingers sliding beneath her shorts and then her panties, rubbing the folds of wetness leaving her aching. She caught his lips again and moaned into his mouth. He moved her over slightly and guided her hand to his hardness. She didn’t know what to do. She had never done this before but with the way she felt right now, anything he asked for, she would allow him. So, when her hand went from touching him through fabric to touching _him_ , she allowed him to guide her hand up and down as his fingers moved in and out of her until she cried out and her thighs clinched together as his fingers slowed down in their movements. She heard him gasp as her hand felt a hot sticky warmth on it.

  
She sighed in pleasure. She felt warm. It was incredible.

  
“Princess,” he murmured against her neck as he held her.

  
She kissed his chest and said, “I know you’re probably using me as a way to gloat, as a way to hurt my brother more than you’ve already have…but I—”

  
No more words could come out as he kissed her again drowning out her thoughts while holding her tight.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
The next morning when she woke, Erik was not there. She’s wrapped in blankets she had not been in before and the only proof that indicated last night was not a dream was the stickiness between her thighs. She wanted to shower last night but Erik would not release her from his hold. When she sat up, Linda was glaring at her from the door.

  
“Go shower,” she said her nose wrinkling and it’s all Shuri needed to hear to know Linda was aware of what happened last night. And despite what she thought about Linda a part of her felt guilty. “Hurry, we need to go.”

  
On their drive, Shuri asked where Erik was but Linda didn’t respond and chose to blast music the whole way instead. Linda didn’t speak to her until they were in a busy market.

  
She told her, “I won’t lose him to you.”

  
Shuri didn’t know what to say. A part of her wanted to be spiteful and say she never had him. But Shuri had never been one to condone the idea of women fighting over men and despite what she felt for Erik, she would not fight Linda for him.

  
She could only tell her what knew was true as they stood inside of the busy market Erik clearly had no idea about. And when she looked into the sky she could see the glimmers of the Wakandan ship there.

  
“When he finds out, he’ll never forgive you.”

  
Linda sneered but after spending weeks with her, Shuri knew she was scared too. It was more than just the relationship she had with Erik. Linda was ruining the plans of his dream. “And that’s why he won’t find out,” she said.

  
“Leave now and go to your brother. I’ll tell Erik you beat me up and ran away.”

  
It’s a stupid plane, one Erik would mostly likely not believe, and it made Shuri realize just how desperate Linda was. So, she did leave and never looked back until she ran onto the plane and into her brother’s arms.

  
It felt like home again.

  
“Shuri.” T’Challa whispered tearfully as he held her tight enough that she could melt into him. She cried hard sobbing against his chest as Okoye loomed over them worriedly wiping her own tears.

  
“Where have you been, brother?” she asked as she beat her fist against his chest. “I waited for you. I waited for you for so long. How could you not find me?”

  
“We looked everywhere for you,” Okoye said. “We believe the man Erik Killmonger who took you used some type of clocking device. We looked for you every day. The King could barely eat without you here and Queen Mother…” Okoye’s eyes water and Shuri thought of how much it must have hurt her mother to have her daughter missing.

  
“I’m sorry, Shuri. I’m so sorry I’ve failed you. I’m supposed to be a king, but I’ve failed to keep my own sister safe.” And just like that her anger faded. It’s what Erik would have wanted. He wanted to tear them apart. He wanted her brother to feel this type of pain, and seeing the tears fall down her brother’s face only hurt her more. So, she hugged him tight and apologized for her words, and he apologized for not saving her sooner. When he tried to explain why she waved him off. She knew why. Vibranium in the hands of someone like Klaue and Erik would be a dangerous thing to the entire world.

  
The rest of the ride they held each other in silence until it’s time to get off the plane and T’Challa asked what seemed to scare him the most.

  
“Did they touch you? Did he touch you?”

  
Shuri shook her head and reassured her brother until he believed it was not a lie. Erik did touch her, but it was something she had wanted, and Shuri knew of shame to know there was no way she could ever tell her brother that.

  
“I’m going to find him and make him pay for his crimes,” he said.

  
A few weeks ago, she would have wanted the same. She would have hunted them down herself.

  
But she shook her head. “I know who Erik is.”

  
When her brother looked at her, she could tell that he also knew who he was. T’Challa looked down with shame before shaking his head. And she wondered when T’Challa knew of Erik’s situation. Had their father told him? She shook the thought from her mind knowing her brother would not be able to handle such a burden on his shoulders. Their father had kept the secret hidden from everyone. Probably her mother too.

  
“I know he’s blood of our blood, but I cannot forgive him for what he has done to you.”

  
And Shuri wondered what T’Challa believed Erik had done to her other than ruin her heart and mind so she’ll never be able to love another.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
It’s another week before Erik stormed into the throne room claiming to have killed Klaue and wanting the throne himself. Everyone is shocked to hear he is the son of N’Jobu. As Shuri had suspected her mother did not know from the shock written on her face, but something in the grimness of her stare told her she must have had a feeling.

  
They said it would take weeks to set up another ceremony. Shuri could see Erik’s eyes light up and she knew what he was going to say before the words came out. She gave him a look, a look that pleaded with him to not do it.

  
“I have nothing but time, Auntie. I can wait.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
They set him up in a room and not a prison, much to the chagrin of her mother who wanted nothing to do with him. Even with the anger in Erik’s eyes, her mother refused to believe her father had done wrong. Shuri’s not so sure. Not when she thought all of this hatred could have been prevented if her father had brought Erik home.

  
Shuri visited him in his chambers that same night. The moment he opened the door, he snatched her inside shoving her against the wall with angry eyes. She didn’t know what to say seeing the betrayal in them.

  
So instead of speaking on what’s unspoken between them, she asked, “where is Linda?”

  
“She’s dead,” he said. “And I know what she did.”

  
“And you killed her for that?” she asked angrily.

  
“Naw, but she was lucky I didn’t kill her for that. I was going to use her for as long as I needed her,” he said. “She only made it easier for me when she was stupid enough to let Klaue catch her.”

  
Shuri sighed feeling sorry for Linda having loved someone who would never love her back. Erik was too filled with hatred to do that.

  
“You shouldn’t fight my brother for the throne.”

  
“It’s my blood right. And if he had given me the vibranium before, we wouldn’t be going through this.”

  
“But still—”

  
“You worried about me, cuz.”

  
“Don’t call me that,” she said.

  
He moved closed. “Yeah, I shouldn’t call you that, princess. We’re much more than that. You’re blood of my blood, skin of my skin, and soul of my soul now.”

  
He kissed her hard and she kissed back with equal force ignoring the clash of their teeth and breathing harshly as she tried to drink all of him. Though she had been glad to be home to see her land again, she missed Erik. She had missed their childish banter and the way he watched over her as she laid awake at night. She had missed the way he would look at her differently than he would look at anyone else. Though she did not miss every moment of it, she missed him.

  
So, she kissed him back with her all, so he would know it. So, he could know that despite leaving him, she had never wanted to betray him. They wrapped their arms around each other, and the only thing that could pull them apart was not the much needed air, but the sound of a knock.

  
Shuri pulled back immediately realizing she should not be here and Erik chased after her lips to kiss her one more time before pulling back with a growl. She adjusted her clothes and wiped her mouth as Erik snatched the door open. She thought it would be staff, but it was her brother. When his eyes connected with hers, they widened with confusion before settling on outrage.

  
“Why is my sister in your chambers?” he asked.

  
“Brother—” she called but he silenced her words with a hiss. She could see the disappointment in his gaze and she wanted to argue but knew it was not much she could say. Erik was not some regular man. He was their enemy, her kidnapper, and their blood. How could she argue that kissing him in the middle of night while no one was around was right? T’Challa still treated her as a child despite the she fact she was a woman now. She would always be his little sister to him.

  
“Your sister is where she wants to be, cuz.” It’s not what T’Challa wanted to hear, and all the calm of a king he had presented in the throne room disappeared in an instant when he grabbed Erik by the front of his robes.

  
“You will leave my sister alone. You will not warp her with your hate.”

  
“Stop, brother. Please stop.” She pleaded as she grabbed them. “I only came to speak to him, so we can stop this nonsense. You two should not fight.”

  
T’Challa pushed Erik and Erik only smiled mischievously. It made her feel stupid to be used as his trophy against her brother and she glared at him until there was only a hint of triumph in his eyes and the smile disappeared.

  
“I will warn you again to stay away from my sister. The only reason that I do not kill you now for being alone with the princess is because of your father, but next time I will show no mercy.”

  
T’Challa pulled her out of the room and did not release his hands from hers until they were in her chambers. He stared at her in disappointment as she looked at the ground.

  
“You are never to go to his chambers or speak alone with him again. Mother will not have it and I will not have it either.”

  
“I was trying to protect you, brother.”

  
“I don’t need you to protect me in that way. I do not trust Killmonger around you. We had not seen you in weeks because he kidnapped you. He is lucky that I did not have him killed where he stood.”

  
“Brother, this isn’t right. It’s not right at all.”

  
T’Challa didn’t reply only staring at her with curious eyes. “What happened between you two?”

  
“What?” she asked feeling her heart beat. “What do you mean, brother? Nothing has happened. I told you I spoke to him.”

  
He didn’t seem to believe her words as he placed his hands behind his back. “I know those eyes, Shuri. I am man myself. Erik neither looks at you with eyes of an enemy, or eyes of blood, but with eyes of a man.”

  
“You think those lasers he shoots out of his eyes have any warmth for me?”

  
“Stay away for him, Shuri.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
But how could she stay away from him? It was all unfair. It was unfair that Erik was left behind without a father. It was unfair that her father had to bear such a horrible secret. It was unfair that she had been kidnapped. It was unfair that she had fallen in love with a man who had too much hate filled in his heart to ever fall in love with her. It was unfair that she had not been raised with Erik because then, maybe then, she would never be able to see him as a man.

  
The unfairness of everything made her unable to listen to her brother’s words. Something she had never done before. T’Challa was more than just a brother to her, he had been like a father. Even when she did not want to listen to his words, she had, but this time she could not.

  
Shuri went to Erik’s rooms and grabbed him to take a walk. She wanted him to see what life could have been like for him. She wanted him to see what it could be like now. Though Erik did not talk, she could see the excitement in his eyes as he looked at all of the beautiful things around them. She showed him the technology she had created and could see how impressed he was by her intelligence. She bragged with a wide smile as he bumped his shoulder against hers whenever she got too cocky.

  
Though Erik didn’t speak, she tried to fill the silence with her own words.

  
“Before, I wouldn’t have thought about the rest of the world. It’s not that I didn’t care, I was just more worried about my own home and family. But after seeing your home and the way you lived, and the way people who look like me live, I realized that me and my people have been ignorant of what has been happening around us.”

  
“Ignorance or negligence?” he asked. It was the first time he had spoken.

  
She bit her tongue allowing his hate to simmer before saying, “both.”

  
“So, you see why it’s best to give vibranium to the world to help us beat our oppressors? We could make the world a better place for people like us. We can beat those who hurt us at their own game.”

  
“No,” she said. “You would only have us be like them and though I love you, I know the hate you hold in your heart. You would have it engulf us all until we know hatred like you.”

  
“You love me, princess?” he asked pausing in the middle of their walk to look at her. There was a smirk on his lips and Shuri sighed.

  
“Yes,” she admitted, “but you already knew that. You made me fall in love with you, so you could ruin me and my brother. But I’ll let you know this, N’Jadaka, son of N’Jobu.” He blinked in surprise at the use of that name. “No matter what I feel for you, you will never make me turn my back on my brother. You will never make me turn against him. You will never make me turn my back on Wakanda. You will never make me turn a blind eye against all you’ve done. My heart may be filled with love for you, but my mind is still clear.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
“I think you shouldn’t do this.”

  
T’Challa shook his head. It seemed that he had been avoiding her as the preparations for the ceremony continued, but today he came to visit her at the lab.

  
“You’ve changed,” he said quietly. “And I do not like it.”

  
Shuri turned from her work to look at him. “I have not.”

  
“You don’t see it, but I know you, Shuri.”

  
“As I know myself,” she argued. “I just don’t want to see you fight. I have a bad feeling about this in my gut.”

  
“You doubt me without the strength of the heart shaped herb?”

  
“You possess more strength than any man on this planet, T’Challa. You don’t need the heart shaped herb to make you strong. You already are. But Erik…his hate will run over you and consume you as it’s already done him.”

  
T’Challa shook his head again as she grabbed his hand. “I’ll admit that I want to reason with him. I’m no fool to think I know of the life he has lived, but I don’t think he’ll be able to listen. I want to work this out but then I’m not sure if there’s a place for him here.”

  
“It has to be,” she said. “It’s his home.”

  
“And yet he is still lost.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
It’s the night before the ceremony and Shuri could not sleep. Her stomach wouldn’t allow her to as she felt nausea for what’s to come. Two of the people she loved would have to fight and one would either yield or die. She had a feeling that neither would yield, not even T’Challa.

  
When her door opened, she didn’t bother to turn to see who it was. Of course, it’s him. Everything would change between them by the end of the ceremony. Either she would have to see him die or hate him for the rest of her life for killing her brother.

  
Without words, he stood at the edge of her bed and tugged his shirt off. Then his pants. Then his briefs until he’s naked before her. And then she removed her clothes as well, _hesitantly_ , to his amusement and pleasure. With every item of clothing gone, his eyes would greedily drink in every part of her body until she stood naked before him. He stepped close to her and hugged his body against hers before grabbing her face and kissing her deeply.

  
Shuri was drowning.

  
He kissed her everywhere. He touched her everywhere. His hands ran down her body, over her breast, across her stomach before cupping her wetness below. She touched him too, hands roaming over his shoulder blades and scrapping down his back. She was drowning so deeply that she didn’t realize she was on the bed now until her legs were spread, and he licked every part of her leaving her moaning into the quiet of the night. He only pulled back after licking her until she was shaking and then kissed her again. And when he positioned himself between her legs, he gave her a questioning gaze that sought approval.

  
She sighed deeply, shaking her nerves away, knowing there was no way she would ever regret this and nodded. Erik grinned before slowly easing himself into her. It was uncomfortable at first. An intrusion she never felt before. A sharp slice of pain but she never had the chance to dwell on it before he kissed her thoughts away. He rocked into her at first and when he could no longer go slow, he plunged into her leaving her eyes wet and her mouth open with delirious moans. Erik fucked her hard and slow making sure she felt all of him. Shuri wanted it to last forever, and in that moment it did, but it’s not long before it’s over. She wished they had done this before. That they had more time to share their bodies with each other. But there was no point in regretting what could not be changed, so she held him tight as they laid on top of her fur blanket.

  
She said, “please yield.”

  
And next, she said, “please don’t kill my brother.”

  
And finally, she said, “please live.”

  
It’s quiet for a long time, and the rise and fall of his chest made her eyes droop lower, but even as sleep took over her she could still hear him say, “this was all easier when I had no one to care about. I was supposed to ruin you, princess. But you’ve ruined me.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
They are on the waterfall and the challenge has begun.

  
The people cheered T’Challa on thinking Erik to be a fool. But no one could have been prepared for Erik’s wrath. Not even her. Zuri is dead. And Shuri could barely see the fight as tears pool in her eyes while she watched Erik slice away at her brother. And her brother has become so overcome with emotions from Zuri’s death that he can neither fight nor think straight.

  
Erik asked, “is this your king?” as he hauled her brother’s limp body onto his shoulders. She could no longer stand and fell to her knees as he carried her brother to the edge of the waterfall.

  
“Please don’t,” her mother begged repeatedly like a prayer.

  
“N’Jadaka!” she yelled and sobbed. “Don’t!”

  
Her words made him pause in his steps. She waited with a bated breath as she watched the muscles in Erik’s back move. If he did it, she would not know what to do. Her heart would die. She could not lose her brother and though this fight would be death by combat making it fair, she would never be able to forgive Erik. She would kill him herself.

  
“Please don’t,” she said.

  
Erik breathed harshly before tossing T’Challa on the ground.

  
Everyone is quiet but her mother and Nakia who rushed over to her brother’s body. Shuri couldn’t move as she looked at Erik.

  
“Fuck all this challenge shit. Y’all up in here living good while the rest of our people can’t fight for themselves. My dad died trying to protect our people all over the world, while y’all have only tried to protect yourselves. Who would want to be a king of cowards? I don’t want to be your king,” he said before he walked away. “I yield.”

  
Everyone was left confused not understanding what they just saw. Some looked relieved as people had been upset when they heard an outsider, son of N’Jobu or not, was fighting to become their king. While some were outraged by his words. W’Kabi looked disappointed in both Erik and T’Challa. Shuri watched Erik until his back disappeared behind the rocks before she stumbled over to her brother and clutched his hand. She needed to get him to her lab soon, so she would be able to heal him.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
“You’ve ruined me,” Erik said.

  
She had just come to Erik’s chambers after making sure her brother would be okay. He glared at her as he grabbed his duffle bag and pulled out the clothes he had brought when he had first come here.

  
“Stay,” she said.

  
“This is all your fault, princess.”

  
“Then let me make up for it. Stay here for you. Stay here for me. Be with me,” she said as she grabbed his arm.

  
“I’ve lived my whole life for this moment. I’ve planned this for years. I’ve killed for years. I should have killed him. I should have become king and taken the vibranium,” he said as his hands shook with anger. “It was right there in my hand, but you had to say my name. You’ve ruined me.” He pushed her gently and then walked to wall before slamming his fists through it repeatedly. She flinched as the last hit broke through the wall.

  
“You want to know what I thought when you said my name, Shuri.”

  
She blinked and when she opened her mouth, she closed it at a loss for words. He had never called her Shuri before and it made her unable to think. He turned to face her and gave her a broken smile.

  
“Yeah, exactly,” he said. “I could barely think straight, but then I thought about you that day when you finally cried for me. I wanted to break you so bad. You were some princess who had fallen into my lap and no matter how much I tormented you, you wouldn’t break. But when I opened my eyes and you were crying, I wanted you to feel that type of pain. But now I can’t even think about you crying or being hurt because that shit pisses me off.”

  
His words moved her, and it was as much as a love you that she would ever possibly get from someone as broken as him. She couldn’t say she regretted what she had done, and she would not lie to him either because lies were never things Erik appreciated, so she told him the truth.

  
“I love you,” she said. “Please stay home. This is your home now.”

  
“This isn’t my home, princess. It’ll never be,” he said. “Besides, do you think I didn’t kill your brother because I’ve had a change of heart?” He laughed cruelly. “Y’all been here living comfortable while the rest of the people who look like us are in pain. Shuri, do you really think I can live here in ignorance ignoring what’s going on around me? I can’t do that. I won’t do that. Not for you. Not for anyone.”

  
“I’ll talk to T’Challa. There must be a way. We can share our vibranium. We can help the world.”

  
“Fuck the world. I want to help us.”

  
“I can not _only_ help people who like us because that’ll only create an imbalance. Nothing would ever change, but I believe we can share our vibranium.”

  
The words come from neither of them and Shuri turned around to see her brother at the door. “T’Challa! What are you doing out of bed?”

  
“I tried to get him to stay,” Nakia said as she propped T’Challa up on the resting bed that hovered in the air. T’Challa looked bad and needed more sleep after his fight with Erik. Nakia looked at Erik warily before looking at her with a wondering gaze.

  
“I had a feeling that Erik would leave soon, so I decided to come have a chat with him.”

  
“There’s nothing to talk about, cuz. You’re just lucky your ass isn’t floating in some river somewhere.”

  
Shuri looked back at Erik in frustration and pinched his side. He cursed before turning his glare away from T’Challa and on her.

  
“Stop being an asshole, Erik.”

  
“ _Shuri_ , Nakia,” T’Challa said. “I would like to speak to Erik alone.”

  
Shuri wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave Erik alone in the same room with her brother who was still so weak. He was still angry, and it wouldn’t take much for Erik to change his mind and decide that he did not care whether she cried or not.

  
But she left the room anyway deciding to trust her brother and Erik.

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
Her brother and Erik talked for a long time and Nakia had to stop her from pacing back and forth.

  
“Aren’t you worried?” Shuri asked Nakia as she finally sat down.

  
“Somewhat,” Nakia admitted. “But I trust your brother to make the right decision. He’s been through a lot with your kidnapping and learning about Erik. But I think he’ll do what’s best for Wakanda—”

  
“—what about—”

  
“And Killmonger,” Nakia finished with a raised brow. “You seem to care about this Killmonger an awful lot.”

  
“Well we are family,” Shuri said and she cringed at the words coming from her mouth. It was the only excuse she could make, but even she could tell Nakia did not believe her words.

  
“No need to lie, Shuri. At some point we’ve all loved those we’re not supposed to. The heart never works the way you want it to. I won’t lie to you and say that I fully understand it.” Shuri flinched from her words but Nakia continued. “Blood or no blood, Erik is a…”

  
“Asshole?” Shuri offered and Nakia laughed.

  
“Well that and some more. Let’s just say he hasn’t changed my thoughts on how I feel about some American men but…if it wasn’t for you T’Challa would not be here right now. I have a feeling if you hadn’t met him we would all be in a worst position.”

  
Shuri nodded and looked down.

  
“Shuri…just do what’s best for you. Many do not believe I was right in my actions for leaving and choosing to be a spy, but I don’t regret it. I love what I do out there.” Nakia said. “And I’m afraid to say many won’t be accepting of your choice…and I’m sorry to tell you that I’m one of them, but it’s your life and you have to be the one to choose how to live it, so do it your way.”

  
Shuri stood and pulled Nakia into a hug. It was as much of an approval that she would get from anyone. Nakia laughed as she patted her back. “I know you might think your brother is disappointed in you, but he could never be. He’s so proud of you and no matter what he’ll always love you.”

  
They hugged until the door opened and T’Challa came out. Nakia quickly jogged over to grab a hold of T’Challa and push him to lay back down.

  
“No need to worry, Nakia.”

  
“You’re lucky I haven’t tied you to this bed yet.” Nakia said with a shake of her head. “Is it all done?”

  
“Yes, it is,” T’Challa said with a deep sigh. “Shuri, you may talk to your friend now.”

  
Shuri nodded and kissed her brother’s cheek.

  
“I love you, brother,” she said.

  
“And I love you, Shuri.”

  
*                   *                      *                      *

  
“Your brother doesn’t like to give up, huh?” Erik asked as they sat on the floor with their backs pressed against the bed.

  
“Yeah, he’s kind of stubborn like me.”

  
Erik shook his head as he looked out the window watching the sun go down.

  
“It’s beautiful, right? It’s one of the things I missed the most when you decided to kidnap me.”

  
“Think of it as a vacation.”

  
“A vacation,” she sputtered out to his amusement. “You had me tied with ropes, you asshole. If that’s what you call a vacation, it’s the worst one ever. A vacation would be like going to Disney world or Coachella.”

  
“Shuri."

  
“Hmm.”

  
“I’m leaving.”

  
She looked away from the window to stare at him. “Where are you going?”

  
“Back to Oakland. Your brother plans to buy buildings there to open up centers for the youth. I think I’ll be better there than here.”

  
“But—”

  
“It’s not my home, princess. It’ll never be,” he said before turning to look at her. “But that’s not going to change you and me.”

  
“I know what you’re saying, and I know why you’re doing it but— but it doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t want to get in the way of your dreams, Erik. I don’t want to force you to stay, so I won’t force you. But you’ll always have a place here with me—”

  
He pinched her side and she glared.

  
“What was that for, Erik? I’m trying to be serious here.”

  
“Of course, I will. Don’t you remember what I told you? You’re mine. All of you is mine,” he said as he grabbed her and placed her on his lap. He kissed her neck gently before sucking on it hard that it made her squirm in his lap. He chuckled. “Besides, you’ll be heading the science and technology division there anyway.”

  
“Hmmm— what?” she asked. “Wait— did my brother tell you that?”

  
“So, get ready, princess. You’ll be doing a lot of traveling between here and Oakland,” he said as his hands roamed over her. “You’re stuck with me, Shuri.”

  
Shuri smiled. “I’m stuck with you, eh? I think like the sound of that.”

 

*                   *                      *                      *

  
It’s not all perfect. Erik could never say anything that didn’t make her brother annoyed and it’s hard to have them in a room together. Their views are always opposing. It usually took Nakia and herself to help them to understand each other.

  
Their relationship was not something they shouted about to the world either. They could never do that. Her face wasn’t that thick, and though Erik pretended he did not care, she knew he did.

  
Erik’s still angry. There are days when he looked at her and she could still see the regret in his eyes. Like he had made a mistake in caring for her. Like he had made a mistake in ever meeting her. And like Linda, she would open her legs giving herself to him and close her mouth over his. And other times, she would let her own anger and regrets out, because it was not easy to love someone like Erik. It would result in their annual fight that led to a separation of a week, sometimes two, sometimes a month, apart until their hearts both ached for each other and one of them returned. It was something they had both come to accept. After all, she did steal his dream. He did chose her over his dream. She did choose to love someone like him. They’re two puzzles that don’t fit no matter which way one angled them. And though Shuri wondered what it would be like to give her heart to another man, one less broken, one less angry, one more deserving, she found it was hard to.

  
Because every time that thought went through her mind, he would look at her the way no other could, in a way that made her heart burst and her body shake, in a way that made her feel like the most important person in his world. He would kiss her. He would love her even if he could not put a name to it. He would hug her. He would give her all of him even if it wasn’t much. And then she knew everything they had been through was worth it. Knew that in every lifetime she would want to meet N’Jadaka, be it her friend, lover, or cousin.

  
He was the blood of her blood, skin of her skin, and soul of her soul, Erik Killmonger.


End file.
